Multi-sport boot with click-in skate chassis

ABSTRACT

A boot that attaches to skate chasses for ice skating, roller skating, in-line rollerblade skating, and Nordic skating is disclosed. When disengaged from a chassis assembly, the boot functions as normal footwear for hiking/cycling/leisure activities. To attach to a chassis, a wearer a foot into a boot and then presses the boot into its chassis, engaging a click-in mechanism. Once the mechanism clicks into place, the boot is removably secured to the chassis.

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present patent application is based on U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/202,923 filed Jun. 30, 2021, incorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIELD

The present subject matter, in general, relates to hybrid footwear. The present subject matter, more particularly, relates to a boot with add-on skate chassis options, and still more particularly, to boot construction for footwear able to accommodate hockey, figure, roller skate, in-line rollerblade skate, and/or Nordic skate assemblies.

BACKGROUND

Modern hockey, figure, roller skates, and in-line rollerblade skates are made of strong, stiff materials. In addition, such modern skater products are designed to fit a skater's foot snugly and be laced so tightly that such skates inhibit blood circulation. Moreover, the rigid construction can take months to become comfortable to a skater, and at times, even after a lengthy break-in period of consistent use and wear, sore spots and blisters may appear on one's feet. The stiff construction and required tight lacing also make it a lengthy process each time a traditional pair of skates is put on.

Many other ice and roller skate products currently available are also designed to fit snugly throughout the boot and to be laced tightly, impairing blood circulation, but also inhibiting natural toe/foot mobility, negatively impacting balance and creating sore spots and blisters as well as numbness and cramping from prolonged wear.

As can be seen, there is a need for an improved boot construction for skates.

SUMMARY

The hybrid mechanism of the present subject matter, comprising an article of footwear, such as a boot, and a deformable chassis shall now be summarized. The footwear has an underside surface and includes a pair of spaced-apart oppositely extending projections (or protuberances) that are unitary with an outer surface of the footwear. One projection extends away from a forward portion of the footwear and the other projection extends away from an opposite (or rear) portion of the footwear.

The deformable chassis has a back portion dimensioned and configured to receive a heel portion of the footwear. The deformable chassis includes a concave surface region dimensioned and configured to contact and receive the underside surface of the footwear. The deformable chassis further includes a pair of apertures respectively dimensioned and configured to receive the oppositely extending projections. The deformable chassis also includes an integral tab at a rear portion, for enabling a user to lengthen the chassis by an amount effective to dispose the oppositely extending protuberances through respective ones of the pair of apertures.

In certain embodiments of the hybrid mechanism of the present subject matter, the footwear may include a wide-toe portion. In still other embodiments of the mechanism, the footwear may include an inner surface substantially parallel to a surface supporting the footwear. In certain embodiments of the hybrid mechanism of the present subject matter, the article of footwear can be a roller skater's or an ice skater's article of footwear. Yet in other embodiments of the hybrid mechanism, the chassis includes an in-line roller skating mechanism or an ice-skating mechanism.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1-4 are progressive side elevational views of an article of footwear and its associated deformable chassis component, in the process of being assembled, for the purpose of demonstrating a hybrid mechanism of the present subject matter.

FIG. 5 is a view of a skate boot outer front appearance with a ratchet fastener and speed lacing system designed to allow for custom tightening from toe to ankle.

FIG. 6 illustrates a partial front and partial inner side view of the skate boot.

FIG. 7 presents a top view of the skate boot, showing a wide-toe box feature.

FIG. 8 illustrates a partial back and partial inner side view of the skate boot.

FIG. 9 illustrates a partial back and partial outer side view of the skate boot.

FIGS. 10-12 are related views of a pair of boots, wherein FIG. 10 presents a pair of skate boots, one upstanding and the other on its side, as viewed from the front and inner side portion of the upstanding boot; wherein FIG. 11 is a view taken from the front and outer side portion of the upstanding boot; and wherein FIG. 12 is a view taken partially from the back and outer side portions of the upstanding boot.

FIGS. 13-18 are related views of a hybrid mechanism, wherein FIG. 13 is a partial side view of a skate boot used in combination with an attached rollerblade chassis; and wherein FIG. 14 is a rear view of the boot and rollerblade chassis.

FIG. 15 is a view of a skate boot and attached rollerblade chassis;

FIG. 16 shows the boot about to “click into” the chassis;

FIG. 17 shows the boot lowering toward the chassis; finally,

FIG. 18 shows the boot fully secured in the chassis.

FIG. 19 is a frontal view of the skate boot attached to the ice skate chassis.

FIG. 20 is a rear view of the skate boot attached to the ice skate chassis.

FIG. 21 shows a side view of the skate boot attached to the ice skate chassis.

FIG. 22 shows a back-to-front ice-skating blade-attachment feature designed for the chassis component of the hybrid mechanism of the present subject matter.

FIG. 23 represents an X-ray image of the toes of a person in a wide-toe box.

FIG. 24 is a plan view demonstrating and comparing a wide-toe box shoe design (image on the left) to a conventional-toe-width shoe design (see right image).

FIG. 25 shows a foot (in phantom line) disposed within a wide-toe box shoe.

FIG. 26 depicts, as its left image, a foot with a person's toes in a natural disposition, as would be experienced by a wearer of a wide-toe box shoe design, with the image on the right showing a foot with the toes in a “cramped” disposition, as is often experienced by a person wearing a conventional-toe-width shoe design.

FIG. 27 is a diagram illustrating a “natural arch” configuration of a bare foot.

FIG. 28 is a side elevational view exemplifying zero-drop shoe construction.

FIGS. 28A and 28B depict a side-by-side comparison of a prior art article of footwear and an article of footwear exemplary of the present subject matter; also, FIGS. 28C and 28D also depict a side-by-side comparison of another prior art article of footwear and another article of footwear exemplary of the present subject matter; finally, FIGS. 28E and 28F depict a side-by-side comparison of foot-bone alignment associated with a side-by-side comparison of footwear shown in FIGS. 28C and 28D.

FIG. 29 is a diagram illustrating an example of an in-line rollerblade chassis mechanism that can be adapted for use with this skate boot design for attaching various assemblies including in-line, roller, or hockey and figure-skating ice skates.

FIG. 30 is a front view of a skate boot and its attached ice-blade assembly.

FIG. 31 is a front view of a skate boot and its attached in-line skate assembly.

FIGS. 32-34 are related, with FIG. 32 showing a partial rear and a partial side view of an ice skate assembly, removably secured to the chassis component depicted in FIGS. 1 through 4 ; wherein FIG. 33 is a view looking downwardly toward the heel portion of the ice skate assembly of FIG. 32 ; and wherein FIG. 34 is a view illustrating the length of the ice skate assembly, and looking downwardly into the associated deformable chassis component shown in FIGS. 32 and 33 .

Throughout the drawing figures and detailed description, I shall use similar reference numerals to refer to the similar components of the present subject matter.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description is of the best currently contemplated modes for carrying out various exemplary embodiments of the present subject matter. The description is therefore not to be taken in a limiting sense, but rather is made merely for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the present subject matter.

The hybrid mechanism 100 of the present subject matter, comprising an article of footwear 110, such as a boot, and a deformable chassis 200 shall now be summarized. The footwear 110 includes an underside surface 120 and further includes a pair of spaced-apart oppositely extending projections (or protuberances) 130 and 140 that are unitary with outer surface portions 150 and 155 of the footwear. One projection 130 extends away from a forward portion 160 of the footwear and the other projection 140 extends from an opposite (or rear portion 155) of the footwear.

The deformable chassis 200 has a back portion 210 dimensioned and configured to receive a heel portion 170 of the footwear 110. The deformable chassis 200 includes a concave surface region 220 dimensioned and configured to contact and receive the underside surface 120 and/or the exterior heel portion 170 of the footwear 110. The deformable chassis 200 defines a pair of apertures 230 and 240 dimensioned and configured to receive the oppositely extending projections 130 and 140 respectively. The deformable chassis 200 further includes an integral tab 250 at a rear portion of the chassis 200. The tab 250 is looped to enable a user to use the tab 250 (FIG. 4 ) to lengthen the deformable chassis 200, or outwardly flex a heel portion of the chassis (200), as shown in FIG. 4 , by an amount effective to dispose the oppositely extending projections (or protuberances) 130, 140 through respective ones of the spaced-apart pair of apertures 230 and 240 (see FIGS. 1 through 4 ).

In certain embodiments of the hybrid mechanism of the present subject matter, the footwear may include a wide-toe portion. (See, e.g., FIGS. 7 and 23 .) Throughout this patent specification the term “wide-toe portion” shall be understood to refer to a design for articles of footwear, illustrative of the present subject matter, that permits a wearer's toes to be comfortably spaced apart when disposed within the footwear (see FIGS. 23 and 25 ), that resembles natural lateral toe spacing, such as when not within the footwear (FIG. 26 , left image) in comparison to a crowded toe spacing (FIG. 26 , right image) often experienced with typical prior art articles of footwear. In still other embodiments of the hybrid mechanism of the present subject matter, the footwear may include an inner surface enabling the sole of a foot of a wearer to be disposed substantially parallel to a surface supporting the footwear, as shown in FIGS. 28B and 28D, as compared to the prior art. For instance, one prior art article of footwear (FIG. 28A) has an 8 mm drop in height between a wearer's heel and the ball of the wearer's foot. While FIG. 28C presents yet another example of prior art footwear having a gradual 12 mm drop from a level of a wearer's heel to the ball of the wearer's foot. Such prior art footwear (having non-parallel support of the wearer's foot relative to a surface supporting the footwear) can result in wearer discomfort. Finally, FIGS. 28E, 28F illustrate one's foot-bone alignment and associated ligament “increased stretch” (represented by the substantially parallel orientation of a person's foot), advantageously provided by the substantially flat inner surface of articles of footwear, as shown in FIG. 28D, relative to a surface supporting the footwear. In embodiments of the hybrid mechanism of the present subject matter, articles of footwear include roller skater's (see, e.g., FIGS. 13-18 ) and/or ice skater's (FIGS. 19-22 ) articles of footwear. Therefore, for such hybrid mechanism embodiments, chasses can include in-line roller skating mechanisms or ice-skating mechanisms.

In a broad sense, embodiments of the present invention provide an improved ice, roller skate, and in-line rollerblade skate boot, essentially hybrid, since it could be used as a hiking boot and/or a cycling boot and/or a leisure boot when the chassis is removed. Consider, as an example, FIG. 29 which is a diagram illustrating an example of an in-line rollerblade chassis mechanism that could be adapted for use with this skate boot design for attaching various assemblies including in-line, roller, or hockey and figure-skating ice skates. Consider, as a further example, that such ice-skating examples include Nordic, hockey, and various figure-skating ice skates. To use the boot as a skate, a wearer presses each boot down into a chassis, causing a click-in mechanism at the toe and heel to “click” into place. The hybrid skate boot has a wide-toe box construction to allow toes to move freely (thereby enhancing blood circulation, reducing pain and/or cramping, and allowing for subtle movement often needed for optimal balancing). A wide-toe box construction is combined with a zero-drop footbed (used in current barefoot shoe construction to enable optimum balancing without a person being tipped forward, as occurs in footwear constructed with a heel). The ice, roller skate, or in-line rollerblade skate of the present subject matter offers enhanced circulation and comfort as well as balancing abilities. In addition, the skate boot construction provides ankle support along with double-BOA ratchet fasteners to create an easily adjusted speed lacing system (that allows for custom tightening from toe to ankle), enabling it to be put on and/or removed quickly.

For instance, US 2022/0175089 to Pollack et al. for a reel-based closure device for a boot (such as a ski boot); US 2022/0055271 to Hipwood et al. for a reel-based closure system that includes a housing, a spool rotatably positioned within the housing, and a knob operably coupled with the spool to cause the spool to rotate in a first direction within the housing and thereby wind a tension member about the spool; and U.S. Pat. No. 11,297,903 to Soderberg et al., for a reel-based lacing system configured to selectively adjust the size of an opening on an object and allow for the incremental release of the lace within the lacing system, all assigned to BOA Technology, Inc., and all incorporated by reference in their entirety, are illustrative.

Barefoot Shoe Sole Design History

In the late 1980s, anatomical researcher Frampton Ellis began investigating footwear sole designs based on natural biomechanical properties of a human's bare foot. His initial experiment showed how a bare foot, when rolled outward while standing still and upright, remained perfectly stable even while supporting full weight. The same foot, wearing a conventional athletic shoe, was shown to be highly unstable in the same tilted-outward position. Known as “inversion ankle sprains,” these sprains bring more people to hospital emergency rooms than any other injury.

These findings showed Mr. Ellis that conventional footwear had an inherent lateral instability and posed a serious problem. His solution to this problem was to redesign shoe soles to preserve the bare foot's natural balance and stability. Basically, he found that—for a shoe sole to be natural—it had to be contoured to the curved shape of the bottom of the human foot and not flat to the ground like conventional shoe soles. The barefoot shoe sole design Mr. Ellis devised (and later successfully marketed to Nike and other manufacturers) has four essential elements:

Namely, (1) greater width, to match the wide load-bearing portions of the barefoot sole throughout its full range of motion (that is, from maximum pronation to maximum supination); (2) a rounded shape that parallels the bottom of the human foot's natural curvature; (3) greater flexibility, to parallel the naturally rounded human foot's capacity to flatten easily under body weight; and (4) uniform thickness in the frontal plane, so that the bare foot remains in a neutral position when it moves sideways on the shoe sole, essentially moving as if it were directly on the ground.

The Brain-Foot-Balance-Coordination Connection

The soles of feet have more sensory nerve endings per square inch than any other part of the body, to the tune of more than 7,000 nerve endings per adult human foot. Such a nerve-rich nature for human feet is compelling evidence that humans have evolved to become “in touch” with their environment through their toes and feet.

When we walk, our brains continually gather and monitor information from nerve cells called exteroceptors in the soles of the feet in order to fine-tune and coordinate balance and movement. With as many as 200,000 exteroceptors per foot, the soles of the human foot are hardwired to help the brain coordinate subtle gait adjustments that maximize performance, posture, blood circulation, and balance.

Add to this neuroreceptor sensitivity the increased pressure created by shoe heel heights. Any heel height inevitably tips a person forward onto the forefoot, which then requires the brain to adjust and adapt to exteroceptors that are no longer operating naturally, as they would in a barefoot condition. Consider, if you can, that a 2½″ high heel can increase the load on one's forefoot by 75 percent, and the negative effect modern shoes have on movement and balance can be appreciated.

Natural Foot Shape

While the natural human foot is shaped like a triangle, widest at the toes and narrowing toward the heel, most traditional athletic shoes and essentially all skates commercially manufactured and sold are made to be narrow, from the ball of the foot to the tips of the toes, which tends to compress one's toes into a wedge shape, instead of allowing them to spread out as they would if the person were barefoot. Such compression hampers blood circulation and neuroreceptor activity, which impairs balance, reflex reactions, and muscle movements inherent to optimal gait.

The Barefoot Shoe Advantage—Applied to a Skate

Many so-called “barefoot shoes” seek to offer protection (e.g., to prevent glass shards from injuring one's foot while running) yet offer maximum movement and flexibility. Several shoe manufacturers (e.g., Vivobarefoot, Lems, Xeroshoes, and Vibrams) design shoes meeting a growing consumer desire for “minimalist” shoes.

According to SportsOneSource, minimalist running shoes made up 15% of the $6.5 billion U.S. running shoe market in 2012. As Brand Essence Research reported in 2020, minimalist shoes now make up 36.67% of the trail running shoe market.

Yet, with runners embracing the minimalist shoe approach, there are currently no minimalist options for skates in in-line rollerblade designs, in hockey designs, or in figure-skating designs. This patent application seeks to put forth the idea of bringing minimalist shoe design to skate designs, allowing for greater neuroreceptor activity, thereby leading to better balance and coordination in skating sports where traditional skates are fitted and laced tightly in boots made of typically hard materials.

Specifically, the “barefoot skate boot design” of the present subject matter seeks to incorporate minimalist shoe design into an ice skate and/or an in-line rollerblade and includes no heel (i.e., zero drop) and rounded edges along the entire boot bottom (to mimic how a bare foot is rounded along its sides), a “wide-toe box” (a noticeably wider design beginning at the forefoot, distal to the ball of the foot and extending to the toe cap), and flexible, sustainably minded natural boot upper materials, as used by minimalist shoe manufacturers (including but not limited to insulating and shock-absorbing materials, e.g., Sorbothane, hemp, mushroom, bamboo, and/or Bloom Foam made from algae). The manufacture of a flexible foot base contemplates securing the base securely to a support via ankle padding, a ratchet fastener and speed-lacing system (e.g., BOA), to allow for custom tightening from toe to ankle. Such a skate boot could be attached to an ice blade or an in-line rollerblade chassis modified to attach via a click-in mechanism at the heel and toe. Thus, the hybrid mechanism of the present subject matter comprises an article of footwear and a deformable chassis, as described above, and further includes skate structural elements (described above) that are removably securable to the chassis.

As seen in reference to certain of the figures accompanying this patent specification, the wide-toe box and zero-drop insole and/or sole components can be manufactured and/or fashioned from an assortment of durable, anti-bacterial materials, e.g., Sorbothane, hemp, mushroom, bamboo, and/or Bloom Foam which is made from algae, with such components further including rubber components, all of which are stitched together. The paracord speed-lacing mechanism closes near the ankle joint and adjusts throughout a boot body via BOA ratchet fasteners, often made of recycled plastic, that can tighten and secure laces for a custom comfort fit.

The skate boot could, for example, be constructed from Sorbothane, hemp, mushroom, bamboo, or Bloom Foam made from algae (and/or nylon, often used for stress points) that can be treated to be made water-resistant. Sorbothane, rubber, or other suitable elastomeric material may be used for the boot's sole. The blade is made from tempered steel, with in-line wheels often made from Sorbothane, rubber, and/or recycled plastic, and the chassis being made from Sorbothane and recycled plastic or bamboo. Similar to Sorbothane, hemp, mushroom, bamboo, Bloom Foam made from algae, nylon, rubber, and recycled plastic components, the chassis, blades, and wheels can be manufactured in various sizes for different size skates.

To fabricate the boots, a first step is typically cutting the different boot segments out of the Sorbothane, hemp, mushroom, bamboo, Bloom Foam made from algae, or nylon. A conventional cutting machine could be used to produce eight boot segments—four each for the boot upper and boot lining. And another machine for the heel, tongue, reinforcements, e.g., known closures, and a sole. A third machine to punch eyelet holes. Finally, an industrial sewing machine to join the parts together.

A stiffening material could be inserted into the footwear to reinforce the area surrounding one's ankle. Such reinforcement is typically done using a type of plastic. The skate, now beginning to take a distinctive form, will have its excess stitching cut.

To construct an upper, certain pieces of a boot could be sewn together using industrial sewing machines. Inner lining pieces can be stitched together at the back and side seams. (Designs of the present subject matter use no toe seams in order to ensure there are no bumpy surface areas within the toe box that could create chafing, rubbing, or discomfort.) The upper pieces are stitched together in the same manner as the lining. The boot is then shaped by putting it on a plastic foot form called a “last”. A Sorbothane, rubber, or other elastomeric sole is then attached to the boot using urethane-based cement. The sole and heel plates of the ice blade or in-line rollerblade chassis are aligned with the sole and heel area of the boot bottom. The chassis is centered with and aligned with a longitudinal centerline on the sole.

An equal amount of boot bottom should be exposed at the toe and heel. The chassis may be secured onto the boot via two click-in mechanisms—one at the toe and one at the heel. The wearer puts on the hybrid boots and then steps one boot into each chassis, pressing down with weight in the boots to securely lock the boot into the chassis. To remove, the wearer pulls back on each chassis heel's pull-tab to disengage the click-in mechanism for easy removal. This click-in mechanism design makes the invention unique in that traditional chassis assemblies are attached to skate boots by drilling holes using a high-speed drill with 6-32″ bit on a foot-powered press. Then the chassis is attached to the boot via 6-32″ machine screws that are screwed from the boot bottom up through the insole, where they are fastened with brad pole T-nuts (alternatively, rivets are used instead of brad pole T-nuts). This click-in mechanism is a quick and convenient method for attaching the skate chassis, and allows the hybrid boot to function as normal footwear for hiking, cycling, or leisure activities, giving the end user more options than skating alone.

The lacing and BOA ratchet closure and tightening system could be reconfigured in a multitude of ways to perform a similar or identical function to the description already outlined in this application. Similarly, the wide-toe box and other barefoot shoe technology features could all be configured slightly differently in order to yield the same result as this intended invention. In use, a person would simply need to choose the appropriate fit in this skate and then insert each foot inside the correct boot, tighten the speed laces, press each boot into a chassis until the click mechanism engages, and proceed to skate in order to see how this skate design offers these benefits: enhanced blood circulation, reduced pain and cramping produced by traditional tightly fitting skates, and better balance overall by allowing subtle toe movements that engage our bodies' natural internal balancing abilities.

Additionally: Barefoot shoe technology that is applied in this skate could be used and developed in other sport shoes where this type of design isn't currently being offered, such as in soccer, rugby, cycling, and golf shoes as well as ski boots. While the invention is described in the context of green and/or environmentally friendly materials, other natural and/or synthetic materials could be used as well.

Illustrated and described is a hybrid mechanism comprising an article of footwear and a deformable chassis. While the present subject matter is described in relation to a variety of embodiments, the present subject matter is not limited to these embodiments. On the contrary, many alternatives, changes, and/or modifications will become apparent to a person of ordinary skill in the art after reading this patent specification in connection with its associated figures. Thus, all such alternatives, changes, or modifications are to be viewed as forming a part of the present subject matter insofar as they fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. 

I claim:
 1. A hybrid mechanism, comprising: an article of footwear having an underside surface and defining a pair of oppositely extending integral protuberances, wherein one protuberance extends away from a forward portion of the footwear and the other protuberance extends away from a rear portion of the footwear; and a deformable chassis defining a concave surface region adapted and configured to contact and receive the underside surface of the footwear, wherein the chassis defines a pair of spaced-apart apertures respectively dimensioned and configured to receive the oppositely extending protuberances, wherein the chassis defines an integral tab at a rear portion thereof for enabling a user to lengthen the chassis by an amount effective to enable the user to dispose the oppositely extending protuberances through respective ones of the pair of apertures.
 2. The hybrid mechanism of claim 1, wherein the article of footwear comprises a wide-toe portion.
 3. The hybrid mechanism of claim 1, wherein the article of footwear comprises an inner surface that is substantially parallel to a surface supporting the footwear.
 4. The hybrid mechanism of claim 1, wherein the article of footwear is a skater's article of footwear.
 5. The hybrid mechanism of claim 1, wherein the article of footwear is a roller skater's article of footwear or an ice skater's article of footwear.
 6. The hybrid mechanism of claim 1, wherein the chassis includes an in-line roller skating mechanism or an ice-skating mechanism. 